Lew Sapieha
Lew Sapieha (Lithuanian: Leonas Sapiega; Belarusian: Леў Сапега, romanized: Lieŭ Sapieha; 4 April 1557 – 7 July 1633) was a nobleman and statesman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He became Great Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1580, Great Clerk of the Grand Duchy in 1581, Crown Chancellor in 1585, Grand Chancellor from 1589 until 1623, Voivode of Vilnius in 1621, Great Lithuanian Hetman in 1623 and governor of Slonim, Brest and Mogilev.
Lew Sapieha | |
|---|---|
| Great Hetman Grand Chancellor | |
| Coat of arms | Lis |
| Born | 4 April 1557 near Vitebsk, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (now Belarus) |
| Died | 7 July 1633 (aged 76) Vilnius, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Lithuania) |
| Noble family | Sapieha |
| Spouse(s) | Dorota Firlej Halaszka Radziwiłł |
| Issue | with Dorota Firlej Katarzyna Sapieha Krzysztof Sapieha Jan Stanisław Sapieha Andrzej Sapieha with Halaszka Radziwiłł Anna Sapieha Krzysztof Michał Sapieha Kazimierz Leon Sapieha |
| Father | Iwan Sapieha |
| Mother | Bohdana Drucka Konopka |
Sapieha is considered as a great political figure of the Commonwealth. A rich and powerful magnate, he was known for his wisdom as a statesman, lawyer and military commander, he was one of the greatest leaders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the times of the Duchy's highest cultural flourishing. He was of Ruthenian ethnicity. Modern Belarusian sources interpret his Ruthenian heritage as Belarusian.